The Leisure and Cultural Services Department is inviting individuals and subvented non-governmental organisations to apply to operate a new round of Arts Corner stalls. Applications open on Friday (September 25).

The Arts Corner will be set up at the outdoor area near the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware in Hong Kong Park from January 1 to December 31, 2010. The stalls will run from noon to 6pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays during the year.

Interested parties may submit their applications from Friday through to October 15. Application forms are available at the Hong Kong Park Management Office on the first floor of Rawlinson House, 19 Cotton Tree Drive, Central, Hong Kong, or can be downloaded from the website of Hong Kong Park http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/parks/hkp/en/news_index.php.

Applications will be considered by the Arts Corner Vetting Panel according to the variety, quality, creativity, artistic merit and attractiveness of the handicrafts or arts services as well as relevant professional skills possessed by the applicant.

Irrespective of the types of stalls, the first ten applicants with the highest marks will be accepted and the others will be put on the waiting list in sequence according to their marks. If there are applicants with equal marks, the result will be determined by ballot.

Each successful applicant is required to pay a registration fee of $100 and a deposit of $1,000. The deposit will be forfeited if the stall is operated for less than 70% of the contracted time or if the agreement is terminated due to failure to fulfil its terms. Successful applicants are required to have a public liability insurance with an indemnity of not less than $6.5 million during the contract period.

Completed application forms should be submitted together with copies of proof of professional knowledge in the relevant fields (if any) and samples of handicrafts or artworks (not more than three pieces) to the Hong Kong Park Management Office before 5.30pm on October 15.